Midnight Assignment. Victoria Dahl
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at taking control. She could run a team of fifty people with efficiency and confidence. She could choose the right people for the right positions. She was damn good at her job. And lately that was all she was good at.
Passing a large room filled with half a dozen computers and just as many agents, Elise raised her eyebrows in Tex’s direction. He gave her a smile and sauntered over, letting his eyes drag down her body with a comically lecherous look.
“Cut it out,” she said quietly, “or I’ll write you up.”
“God, you are so sexy when you lie.”
He was right about the lying, unfortunately. She’d never write him up. He was her best source of comic relief on stressful trips. “You’ve got everything under control?”
“All clear here, boss. I’ll let you know if we run into any trouble.”
“Good.” She moved on, totally comfortable with Tex’s assurances. Hound dog, he might be, but she trusted him completely on the job.
Her last stop was the bank president’s office, and Noah James stood straight in the doorway, his strong shoulders promising safety.
Noah was second in command at his branch office, but on this job, he was head of security, both physical and electronic, and he answered to her.
Despite their difficult history, she was glad to have him on the team. He was cool and calm and so smart he scared her. Or…he did something else to her that made her heart beat and her skin prickle and her breath come faster. To tell the truth, she knew it wasn’t fear. She hadn’t been the least bit afraid of him on their first job together.
Elise shook off that memory and took a deep breath before stepping into the office. She had to slide past his back to fit into the crowded room, and her arm tingled where it rubbed him. That tingle spread through her whole body, like fingers dragging down her skin, but Elise ignored it.
The chemistry was…a phantom. An illusion. Because true chemistry couldn’t be one-sided and there was no doubt this was.
“All right, Mrs. Castle,” Elise said. “Your staff is in good hands, and they’ll all be back at work tomorrow morning.”
The white-haired old woman behind the desk nodded, and when she smiled, half her skin seemed to disappear into the wrinkles. Elise had been shocked at her first sight of this frail old woman, and she only grew more surprised. The woman had to be close to ninety. Her son, standing behind her, was at least fifty-five. He put his hand on his mother’s shoulder.
“Mother!” John Castle shouted.
Elise and everyone else in the room jumped in shock.
“Everyone still has a job!”
“Oh, that’s good,” she said.
Elise couldn’t help the way her gaze slid over to meet Noah’s pale blue eyes. He looked as dumbfounded as she did.
“Except us,” the son sighed.
Elise cut her eyes toward him and then back to Noah. He gave a barely discernable nod and turned toward the vice-president of the bank. “Mr. Castle, can we speak in your office? There are some questions we need answered.”
The man’s shoulders slumped. “Of course.”
When Noah left with Mr. Castle, it was just Elise and one other agent left with the bank president, Mrs. Amelia T. Castle.
All the documents indicated that Mrs. Castle still ran the bank. She’d been president since 1971 when her husband had died. Her signature appeared on every important document to this day. A stack of papers sat in the middle of her desk, and as far as Elise could tell, the woman had been in the office all day.
But Elise was having a hell of a time accepting that Mrs. Castle could have had a hand in deciding to pursue the high-risk loans that had eventually crumbled the foundation of the sixty-year-old bank.
“Mrs. Castle?” Elise cleared her throat and tried to speak more loudly. “Did you understand what I told you earlier about the auction?”
“Of course I did, dear. Would you like a piece of candy?” She held out a bowl filled with the kind of old-fashioned ribbon candy they used to sell at general stores.
“No, thank you. I just want you to be aware that on January 4 the bank will have a new owner. Simpson Finance.”
The woman’s eyes closed for a moment, and her smile finally faded. “Yes, I know. Simpson Finance. They took over a bank in Lincoln last year, and they’re still up and running. It’ll be fine, I suppose. It’s time for me to retire. I just worry about my little Johnny.”
Little Johnny? “Yes, well… I’m sure he’ll land on his feet. He seems like a smart…boy.”
“Oh, he is.”
A smart boy who was old enough to be a grandfather himself. Elise straightened her spine. This woman was the president of the bank and there were rules to be followed. Ninety years old or not, Mrs. Castle was going to get the spiel.
“Starting tonight, our forensic accountants will begin reviewing every account at this bank in an attempt to give the purchasing financial institution the most accurate account of bank assets—”
“Oh, I should hope so.”
“I should warn you…” Elise swallowed the sour taste in her mouth. She felt like she was threatening someone’s nana. “That any serious discrepancies will be turned over to federal prosecutors for further investigation and possible criminal charges.”
“Well, I’ve nothing to worry about there, my dear. Of course I don’t.”
“Your customers’ accounts are safe, up to and including the maximum amounts insured by the FDIC, and we will be here from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. to assure every one of your customers of the safety of their deposits. However, once you are escorted from the premises, you will not be allowed to return unless you’re under the supervision of Mr. James or one of his team.”
She paused and searched Mrs. Castle’s face for some sign that she understood the permanence of all this. But Elise could make out nothing beyond the powdered, papery skin and the deep lines that framed her mouth and eyes.
A small, tasteful Christmas tree glowed behind her, the halo of white lights making the whole scene that much more surreal. Just as Elise decided that nothing was getting through to her, Mrs. Castle sighed.
“I suppose you’d better find me a good box, then. I’ve got to start packing.”
Hoping the woman’s gray eyes were simply watery with age and not grief, Elise nodded as she stepped out into the hall to call for a box. In the relative quiet of the hallway, she took a moment to remind herself that this was one of the happy endings. Yes, she was firing this sweet old lady, and John Castle would lose his job, as well, but the rest of these people would start the new year with a paycheck. So when a junior team member hurried over with a box, Elise forced herself to walk calmly into Mrs. Castle’s office and help her begin to pack. She could do this for her, at least.
Then the long hard work of combing through the accounting would begin.
IT ALWAYS FELT GHOULISH taking over someone’s abandoned office. Elise had refused to take Amelia Castle’s office, so she’d been left with John’s instead.
Seven hours into the takeover, she was too tired to sit down, so she stood at the black window and stared out. The cold glass poured icy air over her face, helping to rouse her a little. Blinking lights lit up the neighborhood beyond the parking lot. Wreaths hung on the doors. Most of the windows were dark now, but the houses still looked cozy.
Families were in those homes, exhausted from the holidays. Happy and tired.